First published last year anyone know of new places we should review:
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If you were to make a list of European cities with the most individual, distinct and brilliant styles, then Barcelona would surely be near – if not at – the top of the list. Its unique modern architecture, owing so much to Antoni Gaudí, and the city’s strong identity really stand it apart from most other popular holiday destinations. The powerful Catalan identity in Barcelona seen in the food, the buildings, the people and of course the football team (you won’t go far without seeing someone wearing or selling a Messi shirt) really makes for a brilliant experience. Aside from that, there just aren’t many cities which have so much to see and do as well as having an amazing beach to relax and do nothing at.
As well as being an attractive location for a city break for all the above reasons, Barcelona is perhaps one of the more accessible cities in Europe. Barcelona’s big accessibility project took place over twenty years ago in preparation for the 1992 Olympic and Paralympic Games but they didn’t stop with that. The consistent efforts being made to promote access were recognised again in 2011 when the city was one of the runners up in the inaugural EU Access City Award. So it is, for a number of reasons, an ideal location for the less able to visit.
There is a very useful website, called Barcelona Access, for anyone interested in visiting Barcelona who wants to find out more about the accessibility in the city before going. It has details on tourist attractions, transport and hotels, explaining how accessible (or otherwise) each is. It breaks it down in terms of aids for people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive impairments. Although some sites, including the famous the Sagrada Família, are not fully accessible, at least having the website means that you know this before you go there.
Getting around Barcelona shouldn’t be too difficult for the less physically able, especially if you take an adapted taxi. The Barcelona Metro is not entirely accessible but it is probably better than the Tube and the bus system is pretty well adapted for wheelchair users. The streets are generally OK for getting around in a wheelchair and you can obtain a special map which shows which walkways in Barcelona city centre are fitted with ramps.
Where to stay:
The Hotel Arts is a great choice for a really flash, luxury stay. It’s a 44 storey, 5 star hotel right next to the beach. It has an incredible six different restaurants and bars in it and is just generally a gorgeous place to stay. The hotel has well equipped disabled guestrooms with wheel in showers, hand rails and other essentials for less able visitors. There are also disabled toilets in other areas of the hotel and, as you’d expect from a tower block, there are lifts to all the floors. When we previously looked at the Hotel Arts we gave it a good rating of 2.5 BBS Ticks
The Hotel Villa Emilia is a reasonably priced boutique hotel whose only real drawback is being in a bit of a quiet area. It has four stars and there’s a real stylish charm about the design, which is very cool. It also has a brilliant looking roof top terrace and downstairs is the trendy Zinc bar.
We found that they have one large room which has been adapted for disabled guests. It has a wheel in shower and flat access. Getting into the hotel itself is easy since they have a ramp and there is a lift which allows less able visitors to reach all areas of the hotel. Word has it that the staff there are absolutely amazing and will bend over backwards to help you out. From our encounters with them, they certainly do seem very helpful indeed.
We give Hotel Villa Emilia a provisional 2.5 BBS Ticks.
The Hotel Majestic is another stunning 5 star hotel. Located in the heart of the city, its swanky, sophisticated decor and comfortable, stylish rooms make it one of Barcelona’s best hotels. It’s everything you could want and expect from a top quality hotel. The rooftop terrace in particular is a bit of a treasure – it’s accessible, beautifully decorated and has sensational views of the city including the Sagrada Família.
They have four, well equipped, adapted rooms for less able guests. At least one has a transfer crane for getting into bed and in all of them the showers are on floor level so they are wheel-in. Each shower also has a fold-down seat and grab bars. There are adapted toilets on the ground floor and the terrace, with lifts and ramps to make all areas of the building accessible.
We give them a provisional 2.5 BBS Ticks which could feasibly rise to 3 in the future!
Where to eat:
Restaurante Lasarte is Michelin star magpie, Martín Berasategui’s, Barcelona restaurant – at the last count, this chef had seven stars dotted around various restaurants. This particular effort has been given two Michelin stars for quality and creative recipes. It’s a low key but very stylish place to visit if you can get a reservation.
The restaurant is accessible from the street and is flat throughout with the exception of a baffling set of stairs which people need to go up to get to the disabled toilet. The staff are happy to assist less able people up to the disabled toilet but you do wonder why they haven’t put a ramp there. The access is otherwise very good inside so we let them off the bizarre location of the toilet when we reviewed them and gave the restaurant a provisional 2.5 BBS Ticks.
Part of the giant W Hotel, which can be seen from pretty much everywhere near the sea, La Viblia is a really nice restaurant with a great outdoor terrace. It’s not a place for Lasarte-style Michelin star gastronomy but the food is very good and the location is excellent. It’s also a wheelchair friendly spot by the sea, which is a bonus.
They have a disabled toilet and the access is all flat from street level onward. We give La Viblia a provisional 2.5 Ticks.
Where to drink:
The Dry Martini Bar is a great place to stop in for a – you guessed it – Martini. It’s a very traditional, simple bar with a timeless feel to it. You really won’t have to worry about the staff not knowing how to make a proper Martini – they’ve all been well trained and the bar, along with its sister bar in Madrid, has served over one million Martinis!
Other than a small step at the entrance the bar is accessible and it does have an adapted toilet for the less able. We gave the Dry Martini Bar 2.5 BBS Ticks.
Andu regularly crops up in conversations about what the best bar in Barcelona is. It’s described as being the archetypal Catalan bar so it’s somewhere worth trying to find. It’s not a tourist trap but somewhere with a much more authentic, relaxed and unpretentious vibe. It’s not flash or showy but simply a very cool place to wind down. World’s Best Bars have Andu down as one of the best 100 bars in the world and most other places that you care to look are also likely to list it as one of the city’s finest.
The bar is on street level and there should be no problems for less able people gaining access. However, the toilet has no hand rails so, provisionally, we only give Andu 2 BBS Ticks.
If you want to find out where any of these venues are, you can do so through our mobile app which is available on Android and at the App Store. You can find these and other locations around continental Europe on the app as well as many many more places within the UK.
If you know any other really stylish and accessible spots in Barcelona please get in touch. We’re always looking to add to our selection of European locations.